The Age of the Imperial Guptas c4.154

c4.154

Evidently the revenues of the empire had diminished severely on account of the defection of the western provinces. None of these three emperors issued any silver coins, proving thereby that Central India, Gujarat and Kathiawad had ceased to obey them. The precarious condition of the Imperial finances compelled Puragupta to issue coins of base gold. His coins are extremely rare; there being two coins in the immense collection of the British Museum. Allan is inclined to assign the Horseman-type issues of Prakāśāditya to Puragupta, but there is no evidence in his favour. It is therefore more probable that Puragupta’s reign lasted for a few months only. The recent discoveries of dated inscriptions of the time of Kumāragupta II and Budhagupta at Sarnath prove that three generations of Gupta emperors have to be crowded into the short period of six years. Skandagupta, the grand-uncle of Kumāragupta II was ruling in 467-8 A.D., and we learn from the Sarnath inscriptions that Kumāragupta II was recognised as the ruling sovereign in G.E. 154=473-74 A.D.¹ Out of these six years the greatest portion has to be assigned to Narasimhagupta, the son and successor of Puragupta because a larger number of his gold coins have been discovered in comparison with his father Puragupta. It would be perfectly fair, therefore, to assume that Puragupta’s reign came to an end in 468 or at the latest in 469 A.D., and he was succeeded by his son Narasimhagupta. Puragupta assumed the *biruda* of *Vikrama* and most probably the complete form was *Vikramāditya*, like that of his grandfather Candragupta II. Narasimhagupta is known to us, like his father Puragupta and his son Kumāragupta II from his coins only. They are to be found in larger number in Bengal proper than in Bihar or in the United Provinces. Twelve of them are preserved in the British Museum and only six in the Indian Museum in Calcutta. A reign of four years would therefore be quite sufficient for him. The more so because we know now that his son and successor Kumāragupta II was on the throne in 473-74 A.D. Narasiṃhagupta assumed the *biruda* of Bālāditya, a title which has caused much misunderstanding among scholars.